New Items Recap: July 2016

I wasn’t expecting to bring in so many items this month, but that’s how it turned out! A notable new item was the USA longbox CD album of I’m Breathless. I can’t believe how expensive these longboxes can be. They are really unique, though, and they look great. This is my fourth CD album longbox in my collection after both Erotica versions (clean and parental advisory) and Like A Prayer. 

    
My absolute favorite new items this month, however, were 6 Australian cassingles that I brought in. I absolutely love anything from Australia. Cassingles from this country, in particular, are extremely rare and hard to find in good condition because their sleeves are so fragile. They are much thinner than USA cassette card sleeves (sometimes made out of super thin paper, not even cardstock) and their folded edges were perforated for some reason so they are susceptible to tearing and falling apart from the cassette itself sliding in and out so many times. I got 6 of them to add to my collection: “Fever”, “I’ll Remember“, “Rain“, “Take A Bow”, “Deeper And Deeper” and “Hanky Panky“.  Only “Deeper And Deeper” and “Hanky Panky” are a little worn but the others are either sealed or in great condition. I love them!

Here’s the full list of all my new items this month:
Fever / Australian Cassette Single (543918534-4) / Card Box
I’ll Remember / Australian Cassette Single (5439182474) / Card Box
Nothing Fails / USA Promo CD (PRO-CDR-101230) / Jewel Case
This Used To Be My Playground / UK CD Maxi (W0122CD) / Slim Jewel Case
Hanky Panky / German 12” Vinyl (7599-21577-0) / Picture Sleeve
I’ll Remember / Australian CD Maxi (9362414532) / Card Sleeve
True Blue / Australian CD (25442-2) / Jewel Case
Like A Virgin / Australian ‘Original Masters’ CD (25157-2) / Jewel Case
Ray Of Light – New Mixes / USA Promo 12” Vinyl (PRO-A-9359) / Generic Sleeve
Ray Of Light / UK 12” Vinyl (W0444T) / Picture Sleeve
Angel / USA Promo 12” Vinyl (PRO-A-2292) / Generic Sleeve
Like A Virgin / Mexican LP (LWB-6312) / Picture Sleeve
Where’s The Party / Philippines 7” Vinyl (WB-77-561) / Generic Sleeve
Like A Virgin / Canadian Cassette (92 51574) / Plastic Case
Live To Tell / Canadian Cassette Maxi (92 04614) / Plastic Case
True Blue / USA 2016 Re-Issue LP (R1-25844) / Picture Sleeve
Like A Prayer / USA 2016 Re-Issue LP (R1-25442) / Picture Sleeve
American Life / Polish Cassette (48439-4) / Plastic Case
I’m Breathless / USA CD (9 26209-2) / Jewel Case In Longbox
The Girlie Show Live / Unauthorized 2-CD (LFM2CD548) / Jewel Case
Take A Bow / Australian Cassette Single (5439180004) / Card Box
Rain / Australian Cassette Maxi (936240988-4) / Card Box
Deeper And Deeper / Australian Cassette Single (543918639-4) / Card Box
Hanky Panky / Australian Cassette Single (543919789-4) / Paper Box
Like A Prayer / USA LP (9 25844-1) / Picture Sleeve
Bedtime Stories / USA Cassette – Second Pressing (9 45767-4) / Plastic Case
True Blue / USA Cassette – Second Pressing (9 25442-4) / Plastic Case
Music / German Special Edition 2-CD (9362-48135-2) / Jewel Case with Promo-Stickered Card Slip Cover

The most disappointing item of the month had to be the Girlie Show Live unauthorized CD album. The Blond Ambition one (called The Party’s Right Here from a few months ago) was so good that I assumed this one would be as well. It’s not. The sound quality on this one sounds like a YouTube rip. Oh well.

So, like I said, July was a month full of many new goodies but I can tell you right now that August won’t be because the other day I bought one of my DREAM items! It was pretty expensive even though the seller accepted my submitted offer, so I’m pretty satisfied with what I paid for it. However, because it cost more than I usually spend on one item, I probably won’t be buying much else this month (if at all!) but it is so worth it! I’ve wanted this for a very long time. I will share it with you once it arrives!

-A

 

2016 USA Vinyl Re-Issues Review

So I finally had a moment to sit down and really examine the 2016 re-issues against my original USA vinyl pressings. I thought I would offer some thoughts on them. I haven’t opened these, and I probably won’t so I can’t review the vinyl records themselves, but I think what most people are interested in the most is the quality of the artwork. First things first: these look better than the 2012 European vinyl reissues. I didn’t buy any of those except for Erotica, but I saw them in stores. The artwork looked like it was scanned from existing copies as the pictures and the text were blurry and the colors were too dark and off. However, I haven’t fully examined those so I can’t really compare those to these new reissues definitively. I have to say that, overall, these new 2016 issues look pretty good. Keep in mind that I am comparing these with copies of my original USA pressings, and some of these records are 30 years+ old! Colors may change over time due to handling of the sleeves, the elements, etc. Someone else’s first edition copies may look really different to mine. Also, these are my opinions only and should not be taken as a definitive comparison. I would encourage any collector to go down to an actual store to inspect these personally before buying them. Let’s get to it.

MADONNA
Image Quality: Compared to the original, the sharpness of the picture is very good. It’s just a teeny tiny bit more fuzzy but it still looks great. The grey wall background is not as “smooth” as the original, there is a bit of image noise there but, again, it doesn’t look bad.
Colors: The reissue looks less saturated, more of a true black and white instead of my original copy, which looks more like a warmer grey. The reissue is also brighter overall. This is very apparent in the picture above, even more so than in person. I guess the flash of the camera really brings the difference out. The red letter O in MADONNA looks darker red on the reissue.
Text/Fonts: The titles on the front are slightly soft, not as crisp as the original, but still good. For example, the top points of the letter M are sharper and pointier on the original. All words on the back are crisp and sharp.
Other Reproduction Details: The black bar at the top of the cover is slightly more narrow on the reissue. Not a huge deal. The spine is not a true replication. It remains black on the reissue but has larger letters overall and MADONNA is shifted about an inch to the right. Also, the barcode is smaller on the reissue.
Overall Grade: 8/10. Any fan would love to have this in their collection, especially if they can’t get a copy of the original or they just want to have a new copy.

LIKE A VIRGIN
Image Quality: Images are a little fuzzier on the reissue than the original, but not much. It’s really hardly noticeable unless you really examine it. It still looks great.
Colors: The sepia tone is more saturated on the reissue. It definitely has more or a reddish hue than the original. The MADONNA letters were kept their original matte silver color, as was the spine, which was a nice touch.
Text/Fonts: I would say the titles on the front and the song listing and copyright info are as crisp and sharp (if not more than) the original pressing. Looks great!
Other Reproduction Details: Letters on the spine are a bit smaller and shifted a bit to the left.
Overall Grade: 8/10. The difference in sepia tone brings my grade down a bit (not that it looks bad, it’s just not the exact same as the original), but the nice quality of the fonts and the presence of the matte silver printing (instead of using a flat grey color) helps. If the sepia tone had been more faithful to the original pressing, this could have been a 9.

TRUE BLUE
Image Quality: To me, the image looks pretty much as sharp as the original issue.
Colors: Though the sharpness of the image is good, the colors are a bit off. For example, the blue color in the background of the original pressing is more of a blue/green color. Ironically, the reissue is more of a ‘true’ blue color. The color of the wall that Madonna is leaning against has more or a reddish tint on the reissue. The color of Madonna’s skin is also the tiniest bit more on the yellow side on the reissue, I think. The color of the blue on the back of the sleeve looks pretty close to the original but it’s hard to really tell with my current lighting. The blue letters on the back are a different blue color. The MADONNA letters on the back remain matte silver as with the original.
Text/Fonts: No fonts are present on the front, which remains faithful to the original USA editions. All letters on the back are very crisp, however, the MADONNA letters on the back cover appear to be a bit different than the original. Examples: on the reissue, the top of the O is a bit flatter on the top than the original; the empty space inside the D is a bit wider on the reissue…etc. It’s obvious that this font had to be re-drawn. However, this is really only noticeable if you really examine the letters closely like I am doing.
Other Reproduction Details: The barcode is shorter, but wider on the reissue. The letters on the spine of the reissue are the teeny-tiniest bit thinner than the original. Also includes a replica of the original poster inside, which is a nice touch but, again, I haven’t opened it so I can’t examine it.
Overall Grade: 7.5/10. Same as with Like A Virgin, the difference in the colors brings the grade down a bit, as does the minor difference with the MADONNA font on the back. Still looks pretty good, though.

LIKE A PRAYER
Image Quality: This is the most disappointing of the bunch. The images are softer on the reissue. There is not as much detail and contrast as the original. The image of Madonna on the back is softer as well.
Colors: The colors are the most off on this reissue than any of the others. It has less color saturation and is more washed out than the original pressing. It also has an overall yellow tone, which, when compared to the original, does not look very good. The gold lettering details are more of a muted gold and not a brighter, shiner gold like on the original. The original is definitely a lot better because the colors pop more.
Text/Fonts: Overall crisp just like the others, but the songs titles on the back seem to be the tiniest bit bigger on the reissue but it’s not a big deal (it’s really almost not worth mentioning, that’s how minimal the difference is).
Other Reproduction Details: The spine is pretty much almost an exact replica of the original except for the catalog number. No patchouli scent that I can detect, which is to be expected. Not sure of an AIDS sheet inside, but I doubt it.
Overall Grade: 5/10. Honestly it doesn’t look horrible, just average (when compared to the original), which is why I gave it a score right down the middle. For a casual fan who saw this at a store and wanted to have a copy of this classic album, it’s perfectly adequate. I do have to mention that I also have a 1989 Canadian pressing and this new reissue matches the Canadian copy more than my original USA copy. The Canadian copy is more washed out than the original USA copy, but definitely doesn’t have that yellow tone that the reissue has.

Overall, I definitely would recommend these to casual fans and collectors. I am pretty satisfied with the first 3 albums (Like A Prayer left a bit to be desired but in the end, all 4 look great as a set with the new stickers). Again, the things I’m pointing out are really only things that someone would spot if they did a side-by-side comparison. I really don’t think an average buyer will see these at the store and think that they look any different from something they would have seen in the shops back in the 80’s. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do with Bedtime Stories.

Until next time!

-A

Obscure Singles

There are a small handful of ’80’s Madonna songs that were not well-known worldwide hits that were released commercially or promotionally to only one or a couple of countries. Some people may not even realize that these songs were released as singles at all. One example is “Over And Over” from the Like A Virgin album, which was only released in Italy (on 7″ and 12″) and in the Philippines on 7″. The Italian editions featured full color artwork sleeves but the Philippines edition did not. It should also be noted that the Italian editions have been widely bootlegged on ebay on colored vinyl in recent years. Other examples of these rare singles are “Pray For Spanish Eyes” from Like A Prayer (which was only released in Spain as a promo 7″ in a green and blue color WEA logo sleeve), “Physical Attraction” from Madonna (released only in Brazil on 7″ and in the USA as a promo 7″), and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” from Like A Virgin (released as a 7″ only in Japan in 1986. This single would later be released a decade later in 1996 to other countries in support of the Something To Remember compilation). These obscure pressings are usually very, very rare and sometimes hard to find in good condition. Today I received a copy of another rare release, the “Where’s The Party” 7″ vinyl from the Philippines. It was one of only 2 countries that released this song on 7″ (South Africa is the other, though theirs was a promotional release). Neither of these releases were issued with picture sleeves. My copy has a sticker stain on the front and a few dings here and there but the entire side A played just fine. Side B (which features “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”) had a skip or two. Still glad to have it though because it’s pretty scarce nowadays, plus “Where’s The Party” is a fantastic song!

Looking Back: Madonna’s Cassette Singles In The USA (1987-2001)

I remember buying my first cassingle in 1993 when I was 10 years old. For the next few years, I would always browse the cassingles section whenever possible, always searching for the Madonna releases. Cassette singles fascinated me because sometimes they featured a non-album track or a remix edit on the B-Side. But how did cassingles come about in the USA? And how did this affect Madonna’s American discography?

If you know anything about music history, you know that the 7″ 45rpm vinyl record was the music industry staple for releasing ‘singles’ for many decades. They are an iconic symbol of 1950’s and 60’s jukeboxes. The record industry always saw the inexpensive ‘single’ as an introductory format for younger consumers (namely, teenagers). They could spend a lot less money than they would for a full album but they would get the hit song that they heard on the radio, plus another song on the B-side. This technique would train the young listeners to begin buying music on this inexpensive format, and then they would transition into buying full-priced albums. By the early 1980’s, the cassette album had already been introduced and by the mid part of the decade was already overtaking the classic black vinyl LP in sales. But what about cassette singles? Some record labels had experimented briefly with them for certain artists as early as 1982. These obscure, early releases were probably seen as more of a novelty and they didn’t garner much attention or sales.

It wasn’t until 1986 that record labels began to have serious conversations about formally launching the cassette single format. By 1987, the cassingle was introduced on a much larger scale in the United States and record stores were optimistic that they would replace the 7″ vinyl as the younger consumer’s format of choice (at this point, 7″ vinyl sales were already on the decline, which is why the record industry was looking for a new format successor). Cassettes were appealing to consumers due to the rise of devices such as the Sony Walkman and the boombox and, of course, they were easy to carry and play in car tape decks. In the end, cassette singles were successful all the way into the 1990’s and lasted all the way into the early 2000’s.

As it happened, Madonna’s very first American cassette single was for her 1987 Summer hit “Who’s That Girl” (it should be noted that other countries had actually released cassette maxi-singles for Madonna before the USA did, most notably, Canada who had started with 1985’s “Angel”). In addition to a 2-track cassette single (which was packaged in a convenient cardboard slip-case), “Who’s That Girl” was also released as an extended remix cassette maxi-single in the USA. The cassette maxi was supposed to be the equivalent of the 12″ remix vinyl. The next single from the Who’s That Girl soundtrack, “Causing A Commotion”, was also released on these same 2 formats. Interestingly, the cassette maxis were packaged in long, 12″ X 2.75″ boxes. If you’re a collector, you probably already know that CD albums were packaged in longboxes as well in the United States during the 1980’s. This was done so that these releases would fit in the 12″ LP shelving that record stores already had installed (and they wouldn’t need to install new shelving for the smaller CD and cassette formats). These would be Madonna’s only 2 cassette maxi-singles released in this packaging.

By 1989 when Like A Prayer was released, the maxi cassette format was discontinued (at least for Madonna, though it would make a return the following year. More on that below) as well as its longbox packaging (CD albums continued to be released in longboxes until around 1992-93). The title track from Like A Prayer was released in the USA as a 2-track cassingle, and the rest of the album’s singles followed in the same configuration. Curiously, “Express Yourself” was released with 2 different artwork designs. The reason for this is not known. The first one featured the standard design with a photo of Madonna, and the second featured a black and purple logo design. The track lists for both are exactly the same (both feature the 7″ remix of the song on the A-side, in my opinion, much superior to the album version). The “Cherish” cassingle is notable for featuring a non-album song from the Like A Prayer sessions called “Supernatural” on the B-side, one of the very few occasions that Madonna included a non-album B-side on a release. All of Madonna’s early cassingles are scarce nowadays, but in particular, “Oh Father” is one of the most difficult to find. It is one of only a few releases in the world to feature this picture on the front sleeve (this picture was never used on any vinyl or 5″ CD release anywhere in the world). The fifth and final cassette single in the USA from the Like A Prayer album was “Keep It Together”.

    
In 1990 with the release of “Vogue”, the cassette maxi-single made its return in a cassette album-style plastic case. This would be the packaging for all of Madonna’s other cassete maxis from this point forward. They all included a picture insert (many had an additional inner fold with an additional picture or graphics). The track lists for the cassette maxi-singles usually mirrored the track lists of the 12″ vinyl maxis (“Vogue” being the only exception). The second single from I’m Breathless, “Hanky Panky” and the two Immaculate Collection singles (“Justify My Love” and “Rescue Me”) all followed in the same configurations. 1992’s “This Used To Be My Playground” was only released as a standard cassette single as no maxi variations were released in the USA at all.

All 4 of the American Erotica singles were released on both 2-track and maxi-cassette formats. Madonna’s cassette maxi-singles are typically more difficult to find these days (compared to the standard 2-track versions), indicating that perhaps there were only pressed in very limited quantities. The Erotica cassette maxis are especially scarce. As I mentioned before, the cassette maxi track lists usually matched the 12 vinyl track lists, so some of the Erotica cassette maxi-singles featured some mixes that only appear on these cassettes and on vinyl, and not on the CD maxi-singles (for “Erotica”: the Bass Hit Dub; for “Deeper And Deeper”: Shep’s Deeper Dub and David’s Deeper Dub); and for “Fever” on the “Bad Girl” cassette maxi: Shep’s Remedy Dub and Oscar G’s Dope Dub). The maxi for the final single from Erotica, “Rain”, featured a non-album B-side (though it was more of an extended dub) called “Up Down Suite” which was based on the Erotica sessions song “Goodbye To Innocence”(this song which was originally planned to be on the album but later dropped and replaced with “Fever”). “Goodbye To Innocence” was eventually released on the 1994 various-artists compilation album Just Say Roe. 1994’s “I’ll Remember” would be the
last title to be released as a cassette maxi single. This release would also feature 2 mixes exclusive to the cassette maxi and 12″ maxi formats: the Guerilla Groove Mix and Orbit Alternative Mix (though the differences to the other mixes on the CD maxi are extremely minimal). The cassette maxi for “I’ll Remember” is probably the most difficult to find of all of them.

    
Regular 2-track cassette singles continued on into the mid and late 90’s with all the releases from 1994’s Bedtime Stories album (“Secret”, “Take A Bow”, “Bedtime Story” and “Human Nature” and 1995′ Something To Remember compilation (“You’ll See” and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”). I specifically remember the day  I bought the “Secret” cassingle (it was the second Madonna cassette single I ever bought after “I’ll Remember”). I remember being embarrassed taking it to the cash register to pay for it because it had a picture of Madonna in a bra! I also remember buying “Human Nature” and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” when they were released. I never saw the “Bedtime Story” or “You’ll See” cassingles in stores. I do remember seeing “You Must Love Me” on cassette but decided to buy it on CD instead (since the idea of buying multiple formats hadn’t entered my head yet!).

By the mid 90’s, sales of cassette singles were on the decline and the CD single was seen as its replacement (though by this point the overall singles market in the USA was already weakening). In 1998 when the Ray of Light album was released, I remember seeing less and less cassette singles in stores. All 4 Ray of Light singles were issued on cassette, though, and they would be among Madonna’s last (“Frozen”, “Ray Of Light”, “The Power Of Good-bye” and “Nothing Really Matters”). Interestingly, the American cassingle for “Ray Of Light” features a unique 2-face design which is different from the CD releases. The “Ray Of Light” 2-track also featured the amazing non-album track “Has To Be”.

“Music” and “Don’t Tell Me” were Madonna’s final cassette singles to be released in the USA in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Cassettes albums were being phased out around this time as well across the United States (2001’s GHV2 compilation would be Madonna’s final cassette album in the States) and it wasn’t long before they vanished from shelves completely.

The singles market in the USA in the latter part of the century was not as successful as it was in the UK and Europe. CD singles enjoyed a few years of success but in the early 2000’s these were phased out almost entirely and we would enter the world of digital singles (luckily for Madonna’s USA fans, she was the last major artist to still release commercial singles up until 2010’s “Revolver”). The era of the cassette single has a special place in my collector’s heart. It was truly a great time to be a fan of Madonna and music in general. They sure don’t make things the way they used to! If you’re a collector but haven’t really dove into the world of cassingles, I highly recommend it. They are becoming more rare as time goes by!

Just for fun, below is a photoshop rendering I made last year of a “Living For Love” cassette single in tribute to this charming music format. Can you imagine? 🙂

-A

 

More USA Vinyl Re-Issues Coming Our Way

Well in addition to the True Blue and Like A Prayer reissues that are being released next week, today we learned that Bedtime Stories and Erotica are following next month, with Ray Of Light in September. This is exciting because neither of these 3 have ever been issued in the USA on vinyl (except for promotional releases). The Bedtime Stories reissue is especially exciting because the original 1994 pressings from Germany, Brazil and the USA Pink Promo are all rare and hard to get. This is a real treat for fans and collectors! As you may recall, Bedtime Stories was originally to be included in the European reissue set back in 2012 but was cancelled shortly before release.

New Items Recap: June 2016

Here’s a recap of what I hauled in last month:

Give Me All Your Luvin’ / South East Asian Promo CD (0602527997254) / Slim Jewel Case
Rain – EP / Japanese CD Maxi (WPCP-5644) / Jewel Case
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina / German 12” Viny (9362-43830-0) / Picture Sleeve
Girl Gone Wild / UK Promo CD (MADONNA02) / Slim Jewel Case
True Blue / Japanese 7” Vinyl (P-2159) / Logo Sleeve With Picture Insert
Open Your Heart / German 12” Vinyl (920 597-0) / Picture Sleeve
Take A Bow / Canadian CD Maxi (CD 41887) / Slim Jewel Case
Madonna / USA 2016 Re-Issue LP (R1-23867) / Picture Sleeve
Like A Virgin / USA 2016 Re-Issue LP (R1-25157) / Picture Sleeve
Express Yourself / Canadian 12” Vinyl (92 12250) / Picture Sleeve
Like A Virgin / Canadian 8-Track Cartridge – RCA Issue (S161153) / Generic Cardboard Slip Cover

The most interesting item was definitely the 8-Track tape of Like A Virgin! This is my first-ever 8-Track. I’ve always wanted one but they are pretty hard to find since they were mostly ever issued under license for music clubs. The 8-track was already pretty much a dying format by the early 1980’s. Interestingly, the track list has a completely different order because of time restrictions per ‘track’ on this format:

Program 1: Over And Over / Shoo-Bee-Doo
Program 2: Material Girl / Angel / Stay (Beginning)
Program 3: Stay (Conclusion) / Like A Virgin / Dress You Up
Program 4: Pretender / Love Don’t Live Here Anymore

I was also pretty excited that I managed to get a copy of the scarce UK promo CD of “Girl Gone Wild”. To date, this is Madonna’s final proper, factory-pressed promo CD single from anywhere in the world. Hopefully we’ll get another one day, not just the CD-R’s we’ve been getting lately.